Lag in highway sealing renewal

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33263, 28 June 1973, Page 2

Lag in highway sealing renewal

(New Zealand Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, June 27.

The rate of sealed highway replacement was less than half of what it should be, said the Minister of Works (Mr Watt) today. This covered strengthening, widening, and reconstruction.

“Pavements are designed to last about 25 years, but the rate of replacement over the last five years has been equivalent to a cycle time exceeding 50 years,” Mr Watt said in a speech to the Road Federation.

Also, the replacement of bridges had been at about half the rate required to overcome the backlog.

Mr Watt said that from 1967 to 1972 the National Roads Board financed, among i other things, 473 miles of extension of seal, 358 miles of highway reconstruction or widening, 214 miles of highway strengthening, 10.8 miles of motorway were opened = and 42,277 feet of bridging (including motorway bridges) ■was provided. , As well, the board helped local bodies, by way of subIsidy and grant, to finance 75,785 feet of bridging and 13691 miles of extension of I seal.

“Not impressive”

These figures sounded impressive, but in fact they were not, said Mr Watt. The

rate of highway replacement was less than half of what it I, should be, and the same applied to highway bridges. One of the main setbacks of the last five years was the way the board’s income did not keep pace with rising costs. “Costs rose about 40 per cent in the period, while income went up about 25 per cent.” Mr Watt said. “Thus | at the end of the five-year period the number of effective dollars, and hence the amount of work that could be done, was less than at the start of the period.” Petrol revenue Mr Watt said that over the five years preceding 1972-73 the average rate of increase a year in petrol consumption was less than 3 per cent. More than 80 per cent of the board’s revenue came from petrol tax. “Fortunately, in 1972-73 the increase in consumption rose to 7 per cent and there is nothing to indicate that this rate of increase will not continue,” he said. “This means that the rate of increase in costs in 1972-73 of about 7 per cent was matched by the rate of increase in the board’s income.” Mr Watt said that the ground lost could not be made up easily. “Effort dispersed” ■ "But the Government is determined that the board’s income must increase at a rate sufficient to provide against rising costs and to cope with increasing needs.” One unfortunate side-effect

|of the reducing effective income had been the tendency | until now to begin too many big works and not be able to finish them within a reasonable period. The Ngauranga Gorge reconstruction had taken about 10 years; the Western Hutt road had been going 10 years and was still not finished; and in Auckland the 4|-mile extension of the southern motorway from Runciman to St Stephens was started in 1968 and would be finished about 1980, according to the present programme. “All that money tied up, with no benefits, no returns to the motorist,” commented Mr Watt. “This sort of thing doesn’t make sense. “We must have more concentration of effort, a greater endeavour to work on fewer jobs at one time and to finish them quickly and give some benefit to the user.”